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J. E. QUINN l.um METHOD .oF MAKING sus Fired June-2jr'. 192s Jan. 20, 1931.4

Parenteel. 1z0,l 1931 j I 1,789,450

UNITED s'risxrla-s PATENT OFFICEA Application mea :une 27, 192s. serial nu. asasss.

My invention has for its object theprohereinafter more fully described and defined vision -in a full-fashioned stocking of special in the claim. strengthening of the toe portion and certain Referring to the drawings: Fig-1 is a side portions of the ankle where excessive wear view of the ankle and foot portions of a stock- 5 has a tendency to produce injury. More paring embodying my improvements; Fig. 2 is a 55 ticularly, my improvements include the plan view of the end of the full-fashioned method of knitting of the toe as va separate foot and the separately made full-fashioned structure and of different yarn or silk than toe portion before they are unitedv and employed in the leg and foot portion of the seamed; and Fig. 3 is a pe-rspective view of 1o stocking and subsequently securing the toe a seamless toe pocket adaptedto be looped 60 portion to the end of the foot portion by on to the forward end of the foot portion to means of a looper such as commonly emprovide a modiedconstruction of my inployed in closing the toe in a seamless stockvention.

ing. 1 Y The ankle portion is shown at 2 and 3 is the By making the toe portion separately upfoot portion. The toe portion 4V is shaped as 65 on a different machine from that upon which in a full-fashioned stocking, but made with the body and foot 'portions are knitted, the the toe portion knit separately and united toe portion may be made of heavier. or diiferwith the forward end of the foot portion by ent characters of yarn, obviating the necesbeing interlooped therewith along the line10,

20 sity for the use of reinforcing or splice preferably before being seamed along the 70 threads. The toe portionsmay be made Hat bottom lines 14 and 15. As is well known, vand thenlooped -to the end ofthe foot porthe full-fashioned stocking is knitted flat and tion and the compound structure thus formed then folded upon itself and the selvage edges folded upon itself. and seamed as is customary united by a seaming machine. I have shown A in full-fashioned hosiery. Also, it will be in Fig. 2, the toe fabric and foot end which 75 understood that, if desired, the toe portion would ordinarily be knitted as a continuous may be made as a pocket such as formed in fabric before being seamed and these parts seamless hosiery, and this looped on to the will need no special description as to their full-fashioned toeless foot after the same has specific knitting. been seamed along the bottom of the foot More specifically referring to Fig. 2, 3a 80 POItOIl. v is theflat end portion of the foot and has The other feature of my improvement comthe selvages 11, 11, to be subsequently united prises the-knitting of the back portion of the along 14 at the bottom, as in Fig. 1. The ankle with a splice thread so that it is reinseparately knitted toe portion 4a is 'knltted forced in the usual manner and causing that in the flat and of the general shape shown, 85

. part of the reinforced portion just above the having .theselvages 12, 12, to be united along heel to be knitted with tight stitches while 15 in Fig. 1, and selvages 18,18, to be united retaining the splice thread. This provides a along line 19 in Fig. 1. In this .mannen a strong dense reinforced portion for the stockseparate toe pocket is made and its edge 16 40 ing where it chafes upon the upper rear edge is then looped upon the edge 17 of the foot 90 of the slipper or shoe. portion 3a, as in Fig. 1 at 10. It is man1- My invention also includes the method of fest that for perfect results, the number of forming the completed stocking with a toe stitches or loops along the adjacent edges separately made and attached, as hereinafter 16 and 17 ofthe toe and foot should be the more fully described. same, irrespective' of the fact that the toe 95 With the above and'other objects in view, pocket 4 mayl be of an entirely di'erent the nature of which will be more fully undercharacter of yarn or thread than employed stood from thp description hereinafter, the in the foot and leg portion of the stocking. invention consists in the novel construction. The fact that the toe pocket may be knitof stocking and method ofmaking same, as ted of cotton or other strong but relatively 190 cheap yarn, as compared with the silk ernployed in the rest of the stocking, provides the dual beneit of durability and saving in cost. v

There is still another and most important benefit to be derived by my improvement, namely, the prevention of a runner extending beyond the toe into the foot and instep of the stocking. This result is due to the fact that the joinder of the interlooped edges 16 and 17 by thelooper thread along the line 10 will definitely prevent any runner in the toe 4 extending beyond the interlooped joinder line 10. This line oflooper joinder may be formed part way down in the toe as on dotted lines :z2-, Fig. 1.

Heretofore, when the full-fashioned toe portions were integral extensions of the foot portion and 'of the same delicate silk threads, any breakage of the thread by creation of a hole instantly provided a potential runner which at the first opportunity would extend up the full length of the stocking, ruining it. The danger of providing a hole in the toe is ever present in use and any means, such as my improvement, which will prevent such holes extending into runners is most desirable.

Referring'now to the toe pocket construction, when made on a seamless hosiery machine: Fig. 3 shows such a pocket which, if made upon a knitting head having the same number of needles as required to knit the foot portion 3 of the full-fashioned stocking, may be readily interlooped into connection with the foot portion by the looper thread, as at 10 in Fig. 1. In Fig. 3, the toe pocket is shown at 4b, the gussets or narrowings are shown at 4c, and the lend 'to be looped is shown at 16a. In attaching this seamless toe pocket, it is desirable that it first be split along its length, as at 12a, and inverted, so that itsend 16a may be opened flat for being placed upon the needles of the looper bar together with 'the knitted sole end 17 and united by the looper thread or yarn. lVhen the toe end has been attached to the soleportion as above described, the selvage edges 11, 11. of the sole are seamed together along the line 14 at the bottom of the foot `portion and at the same time the edges adjacent to the slit portion 12a are reunited along the seam portion 15 which 1s iu continuous alignment with the seam por-v tion 14 of the sole. lThis will complete the foot portionof the stocking where a seamless toe pocketis employed in connection with a full fashioned legand foot portion. I therefore do not restrict myself to any particular structure of the toe pocket, as the same .may be completed before being interlooped upon the foot portion along the line 10 of Fig. 1 and after the foot portion has been seamed along the line 14, or wherethelines 16 and 17 of Fig. 2, or split and attached along the line 16a as above indicated when referring to Fig. 3.

Referring now to the reinforced rear ankle portion above the heel, I have shown at 5, 6 and 8, areas reinforced with loose stitches and a knitted-in splice thread in the ordinary way; but in that portion indicated at 7, immediately at the rear of the ankle and just above the heel, I put the regular thread (and desirably the splice thread also) under greater tension, so that this portion'7 is more densely knitted and hence stronger than the portions 5, 6 and 8.v The denser knitting of the portion 7 is more noticeable than the more loosely knitted portions 5, 6 and 8, and for that reason I confine this portion 7 to the limited areas where positive contact with the shoe or slipper rim creates friction, and this leaves the looser reinforced knitting 6 to a considerable distance above it and preferably on each side of it, as at 7 but the extents of this tight and loose reinforced knitting may be varied within the spirit of my invention.

I have described my improved method and the article of manufacture produced thereby, but I do not restrict or confine myself to the minor or secondary details either as to the method of procedure or the means employed in putting it into eiect, as variations therein may be resorted to as matters for the skilled artisan and without a departure from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

The herein described stocking comprising the leg, .ankle and `foot portions, combined with a separately formed toe pocket united to the foot portion by a transverse course of interlooping stitches, whereby the knitted structures in the .foot portion and in the toe portion are independent but conjointly form part of a completed stocking, and wherein further, the foot portion and the toe por'- tion are each made in flat'knitted form of full-fashioned construction before said parts connected end to end by interlooping stitches, and in which also, the selvage edges of both the sole and toe portions are. united along the foot portion in common alignment.

In'testimony of which invention, I

JOHN E. QUINN.

in the toe pocket is completed after it has 

